How can I fix this damaged storage unit?

Barbara Mills
by Barbara Mills

I have an old, tatty and not very attractive storage unit for vinyl albums, which used to be my dads. It’s made of very thin wood and has a piece broken from one of the partitions to the top left hand corner. I intend to prettify it with paint, but am unsure of the best way to fix this damage. I intend to spray paint the unit initially as the partitions are narrow and there is no way to use a brush.Any suggestions would be appreciated.

  6 answers
  • I would try to build it up with wood putty or Bondo. It doesn't look like it's that big. Once it's dry, sand it to smooth and shape it, then it should be ready for paint.

  • William William on Jan 08, 2019

    Use wood putty to fill the area then sand to form and smooth it out.

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Jan 09, 2019

    If you are storing albums, are you talking about vinyl records? You should not be laying them horizontally , they should be straight up and down to prevent warping. The suggestions to use wood putty is a good one. Bondo you have to work pretty fast to get it in place before it sets up and is unworkable to shape. Bondo would be the strongest repair if you can get it on quick enough. Sand the repair to match the rest of the shelf, then paint after cleaning and repairing the rest of the storage case.

    • Barbara Mills Barbara Mills on Jan 09, 2019

      Thanks Nancy. Yes, it is storage for vinyl albums. The unit is currently standing upright to save on space, but will be laid horizontally once painted. I will definitely give Bondo a try.

  • Pmono7690 Pmono7690 on Jan 09, 2019

    Actually what the piece is for is paper music. Yes, vinyl albums will fit when laid horizontally. But that is why the shelves are thin is they are for music, usually divided by style of music. Good idea to use some wood filler on the one shelf.

  • Suky Suky on Jan 09, 2019

    You might find it very useful vertically for storing papers, letters, etc. Unless you have a lot of LPs.

  • Joseph Glackin Joseph Glackin on Jan 09, 2019

    If you are going to store the LPs vertical (highly reccommended), why not just sand smooth then apply a latex base color, let dry, then "distress" with a contrasting color laid on and then rubbed off. See a DIY on distress painting, very easy. You end up with old music (LPs) in an "old" storage container.